Master Career Counselor

Carla's blog has been moved to Career Span, Inc.'s company website.
Click here to read latest post.

"Gig" is the word best describing the economy we work in now.

Gig has several definitions including:

1. something that whirls.
2. to catch or spear.
3. a single professional engagement.
4. any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration.

For workers in the "gig" economy, one must learn to whirl in drastically changing business models.

To see our professional work as a single engagement with a day to day timeline is a healthy posture in the gig economy.  Each one of us is susceptible to being let go at a moment's notice.   If you resist seeing this reality of shifting work, your sense of identity and confidence will take a lot of unnecessary jabs.

To see work as a gig is especially important because we can't attach our confidence to one employer or think we will work in the same position indefinitely.

Being let go, even on the best of terms is still humiliating and daunting. In the gig economy we have to stay constantly aware of possibilities and future work even as we are highly productive in our current role.

What would it look like if we all began to view future work as a short term "gig"?
In this new paradigm, there are no job hoppers.

Here are a few gig strategies for the future:
1. Be continuously ready to whirl if you have a job because change is inevitable and tomorrow you may need to look for a new gig.
2. Catch moments with your network of connections and actively search for work even if you think your current work is long term. It may not be.
3. Recognize any job is susceptible to a short duration in our current job market.  We have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable reality of moving from gig to gig without taking it personally.
The gig economy calls for tougher skin and a wider lens of possibilities.


What words would you add to describe the gig economy?

My heart is grateful to the service men and women who've defended and ensured our country's safety. As a civilian career coach on the front line of helping people in transition, I recommend three strategies to consider as you design a job search campaign. 

Broccoli, is a vegetable clinically proven to keep our bodies healthy.

Rich in cholesterol-lowering vitamins, broccoli also reduces the risk of breast, lung and colon cancer.
The more you eat it, the more likely you are to enjoy a healthier life.

We can all agree, this leafy green vegetable provides amazing benefits.

But let's face it, broccoli STINKS when you cook it.

Just the other day, my kids declared the after-dinner odor as intolerable.
To minimize the foul residue we lit candles as though the house lost electrical power.

How can something so good for you smell so bad?

Similarly, life's obstacles are proven to keep our life priorities in order yet like cooked broccoli, it stinks to experience loss, challenges and difficulties to overcome.

The lessons of hardship provide long lasting benefits we may not always recognize including:

• A deeper compassion for those who struggle in life and feel hopeless
• A stronger resilience during tough times as we learn more effective ways to cope 
• A greater capacity to extend kindness during daily stresses such as traffic jams or waiting too long in a grocery line don't seem worth the negativity they can cause
• A far reaching appreciation for life's simple pleasures grows in our hearts as we face difficult circumstances beyond our control

Our choice and resolve to face difficulties with a hopeful attitude can lead to wiser choices and a greater sense of what really matters.


The challenges we face such as losing a job or experiencing great disappointment are rich opportunities to strengthen us.

When life presents  the "cooked broccoli" moments that stink, remember the benefits it provides if you allow it. And don't forget to light a candle.

• At least 500,000 job openings remain unfilled due to current skill gaps primarily in the manufacturing sector

• Over 8,549,000 workers are unemployed as of April 2015

• The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) projects 1,855,000 students at the bachelor's degree level will graduate as the Class of 2015.

To fully understand this blog post, it might be helpful to read the previous one about how the noun form of "career" must become a verb to be successful in your work.

To career your career is another way of saying it.

Intentionality is the catalyst for change

Today's job market demands an intentional posture of developing and growing your skill-set. When you are in the process of learning, you are treating the word "career" as a verb.   When you think you know everything, you've reverted it back into a noun. To say you will have a career in ________ in today's 21st century world of work can never be based solely on your knowledge or expertise.

Career in our new work paradigm is not only what you do but how you direct, own and are responsible for your work success.  Career is the active lens by which you view life and work in the midst of constant flux and radical change.

To career your work life means developing skills that aren't easy to quantify.  Experts have called these abilities "soft" skills.  They are anything but soft. They are the hallmarks of solid careering in a work world you can never treat as a lounge chair.

If you don't career, you will certainly careen. Even when you do excellent work.

Workers can be completely blindsided by an employer who let's him go without any notice because of reasons outside the worker's control.  Here are words I've heard a lot:

"I worked 18 years with excellent reviews. I don't understand why they let me go. I am devastated."

"I've given my employer everything. I worked late nights without pay, given extra time in the office on weekends. I was employee of the month last year.  I can't believe when my team was reduced they included me in the layoff.  Now what do I do?"

In the next post, we'll look at ways to career so you won't be susceptible to the careen.

Careening occurs when you are forced to lie over on the side of the road of employment because you had no idea the gust of change would blow so hard your job buckled under the weight and you didn't even know what was happening.

The solution to this problem is straightening the path of your expectations of what a career is.

If only we could empower our students to understand what career readiness truly means today.

In the private practice of a career counselor, one becomes almost numb to the deep and brutal pain of job loss.  I can vouch for the countless times of watching grown adults sob in a wrenching childlike manner that rips my heart in pieces.

The reason?

Their career and livelihood was suddenly, unexpectedly and even unfairly halted by the loss of a job title, identity and purpose.

For many, experiencing the trauma of being fired or terminated, is a day-to-day loss of a daily routine that once formed a mirage of job security. Many people expect and look forward to work on a daily basis until Friday arrives and the weekend for decompression begins.

For some, work pays the bills and puts food on the table. For most, work provides a sense of accomplishment and purpose.  Even a strong sense of identity.

For workers hurled into this unanticipated crisis of job loss, the harsh reality of grief can plunge them quickly into despair.

In order to navigate the turbulence of our work lives, we have to acknowledge the shift of one important word. The word, "career".



Each of us must recognize the noun form of "career" is dead.

It is not a person you've become solely by career accomplishments or a place that you go to each day to prove your value.

It is not a thing to drive you up a ladder or recognize your accomplishments and dreams.

No one in the high school arena is preparing our students or tomorrow's workforce for this reality.

Career is now a verb.  

As a verb, career now forms:

• The actions we take
• The state of being we choose
• The response we have when workplace occurrences happen (with or without our consent)

We're the ones responsible for our stories of choices and consequences. It isn't the employer's responsibility to provide us with work.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

How we discover meaning, purpose and contentment is not solely discovered in work.
This audacious reality is completely apparent when we are stripped of a job title, a daily routine and sense of purpose in the midst of job loss.

If we choose to no longer career our next work opportunity, we'll certainly careen off a path that provides momentum for the next challenge or project needing the skills we offer.

Having a new mindset about how we do our work is the greatest challenge of the 21st century workplace.

The person who loses their job is one who learns the greatest wisdom of all. They are our sages to learn from and glean the insights we need to not be lulled into thinking our jobs will be here tomorrow.

So, what does it look like to shift the word career into a verb?

Your comments are welcome.

We'll begin this discussion in the next post.

My recent visit to Ebenezer Baptist Church, the home pulpit for Dr. Martin Luther King was very sobering. The church pews, podium and even microphone are frozen in time in the warmth of a fire inside a man who stood for social justice, equal rights and dignity.  He looked upon all of us with such fierce love and determination.

It was a calling he could not ignore and was willing to die....and did die, all for the passion in his soul.

Geese are a perfect example of our desperate need for community during challenging times. Their instinctive V formation pattern centers on the momentum and thrust of wind found in the wake of each other's strength. 

They first form the V shape through an orderly and noisy pecking rite. It seems to make flying almost effortless. They work in unison even while honking in a loud pitch.  They muster energy from a community source that otherwise would make the long stretches of flight seem impossible.

If you are a job-seeker without a V formation of friends and colleagues surrounding you, find the migratory patterns of community.  Where can you make a difference even when not getting paid? Devote several hours of week serving your community.

Don't fly alone.  You are more susceptible to discouragement, fear and defeat.  Without the strength of others, it takes a whole lot longer to reach your destination.

Job searching requires community strength

The search for work often feels like navigating impossible terrain with hidden land mines.

The high points are amazing!  The immediate relief when an employer calls to interview is indescribable.  The low points of multiple rejections cause disappointment that can spread over your confidence like a bad case of poison ivy.

The journey to employment can fatigue the strongest among us. It is an exhausting process.

The palpable combustion of uncertainty and stress cause wear and tear on one's very soul.

The longer it takes to find work, the greater intensity of stress and a continuous cycle of unanswered questions. It can be gut-wrenching.  The gnawing sense of loss causes the jobseeker to forget who they are as a talented professional with much to give and gain.

A sense of identity can easily be shattered with a pink slip.

I see grown, burly, strong men cry like babies when faced with the rupture of job loss.  I'm convinced losing your job calls for a funeral of closure, grief and consolation. But we can't stay forever at that visitation.

Questions surface and race through the swirling mind of a job-seeker:

What's my purpose?

Am I good enough to work again?

Who will hire me?

What's wrong with me?

What could I have done to prevent this?

When will this nightmare end?

Ways to protect your esteem and confidence

In the end, the greatest correlation of seeking and finding work is inextricably linked to your levels of motivation, confidence and determination.  When those levels are high, you're likely to gain momentum that naturally works in your favor. Conversely, when they are low, your search drags on endlessly.

What strategies can you intentionally use to keep your self esteem intact?

Listen to beautiful music.
Take a walk everyday.
Listen to motivational people.
Remember the good, let go of the bad.

Everyday, imagine yourself employed.

After landing a job and exiting from the career counseling process, I hear three primary themes of the job loss experience:

1.  Losing the job was the best thing that could have happened to me.  It ends up that job loss led to a better opportunity. Imagine that?
2. I had to view my job search as full-time work and I could not call in sick.  My best work was to maintain confidence. Having supportive friends, family and colleagues is crucial.
3. I had to remember who I was and that nothing, not even job loss could steal my sense of self without my permission.
Remembering my value as a person diffused the explosion of job loss and rendered it powerless.

Finally, if you are the friend of a jobseeker, please encourage them today with a kind word or note.  Express how much you appreciate their friendship and remind them of how important they are to you.
Validate their talent, skills and all the strengths they bring to the table.

The power of being connected and remembering our importance to each other is an important life skill that we all need to practice even when employed.


What additional strategies would you would share with someone who feels frustrated and at a loss with their job search?






  

Today, art lovers grieve the travesty of priceless works of beloved artists being burned to cover the crime of stealing them. To set fire to irreplaceable beauty and masterpieces is unfathomable.

Read the story here.

The act of someone burning them in an oven provoked deep emotion as I realized fire turned something invaluable into nothing but rubble and ashes.

It reminds me of how we so easily forget and neglect our God-given potential, talent and skills in much the same way by wasting our opportunity to make a difference in the world.

When we forget who we are and the potential residing in our hearts, it is akin to burning away a masterpiece that cannot be replaced.  Our skills smolder as we waste away each day in angst, indecision or unhappiness.

God, the master artist, created a one-of-a-kind masterpiece in each of us to bring meaning and beauty to others by action, words and relationship.

Each of us is given a calling, a vocation to accomplish through a myriad of career choices.  There are reasons for our existence and the journey to discover our multi-purposed life is nothing short of pure beauty.

To think you are not good enough, prepared enough, strong enough, or ready enough is as though you are turning an oven on to a broiling temperature and burning your potential to rubble.

Life is art lived out on the canvas of daily rituals, events, routines and habits.  Your capacity to be spontaneous, accomplish goals, to learn new things and to overcome fear creates a masterpiece of richness and depth for others to preserve your legacy for generations to come.

What else possibly matters more than loving and serving others?

The paint of your life is your willingness to be fully alive and present in this moment.
As Monet's masterpiece cannot be replaced, neither can you.

Don't let fear steal your priceless time and burn away the moments for why you are alive.

In a previous post, I discussed the variables you can control in a job interview. Read it here.  A job interview places tremendous stress on a job seeker to get it right with little room for error.  This makes the preparation all the more important and vital to a successful interviewing outcome.  You must remember the interview is about your resume in high definition.  It is the reason you got the interview.
The employer wants to know how you are the solution to their problem. 

 The non negotiable activities for success include these two important steps:

1. Research and complete a background check on the company.

Before you enter the premises of an interview (starting the moment you park your car), you must inspect, examine, study and accumulate a vast knowledge of the company. This empowers you to know if the company is a place where you want to work.  

• Call your local better business bureau for any consumer complaints
• Check your local chamber of commerce to see if the company is an active member
• Talk to anyone you know who may work there to find out the major reason they are hiring (sometimes that isn't always good)

2. Be an interviewing sleuth and track your potential employer's progress.

You are in the driver's seat ready to determine if you want to spend the majority of every working day with this potential employer. As you prepare for an interview, find the answers to the following questions to make an informed choice and to prepare you for questions you may be asked. 

THE INTERVIEW PREPARATION RESEARCH GUIDE

1. Who is this company and how was it founded?

2. Who does it do business with?

3. What does this company do for the benefit of customers?

4. Who are its major competitors?

5. What is the potential for growth of the company in my area? 

6. When did it begin? 

7. What is its mission statement?

8. What is the main website address and social media emphasis?

9. What geographical location does this company reach?

10.  How many people work there?

11.  Is it public or private?  

Today's job market has placed heavy demand on career counselors from all service deliveries including workforce development, college career centers and private practice specialists. 
We must remember the importance of mindfulness to our client's need and wellbeing even more than developing an awesome resume template or sharing an effective job search strategy. 

Being fully present in the moment is the strongest link to the future of career development success.  It is much like growing a healthy houseplant.  It takes time, energy and attention.

There are a plethora of articles on job interviewing fundamentals.  Here are some really good ones:

1. Dress nice!

2. The first impression matters!

3. Send a thank you note!


My blog post will frame job interviews as a science and how certain variables affect the outcome.
Awareness of these two sets of variables can empower you to persist and be patient with the process.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Chemistry is the major driver of interviewing success.   There are certain elements of an employer's personal bias, first impression beliefs and personality preferences that influence hiring decisions.

Simply put: Just like a science experiment, there are variables that can and cannot be controlled.

So, let's use the scientific method to empower you to success!!!!!!!

MY HYPOTHESIS:

If you follow this method and frame your interview in the following way,  you'll have positive results.


Step One: Ask yourself this question:



In the next post, I will explore the second stage of a successful interviewing methodology. 

Today's career and job search vocabularies are saturated with a word that usually contains a negative connotation: networking.

Networking, a word birthed in pyramid schemes contains the sense of using or being used for the benefit of another.   Its also known as small talk, benign or useless conversation and the most dreaded of all job search activity.
Many people see networking as a necessary evil in the job search resulting in anxious awkwardness.
Networking when I need it is all about me.  Networking when you need it is all about you.

What about a style of connecting that is all about "us"?

The interdependent need to grow, develop and expand our professional sphere with positive influence needs to be rebranded as career pollination.
It is intentional, purposeful and vital to the overall wellbeing of our livelihood. Let's reframe this very important and essential activity in a positive and sustaining light.

CAREER POLLINATION

Just like bees and hummingbirds pollinate the world, we do the same for one another.  Our relationships must be a give and take demonstration of trust and positive action.  This can harness great power to diminish discouragement and alter the course of our careers.

Career pollination is defined as the intentional transfer of information in the world of work from one professional to another.  It is the key prerequisite for successful job searches and future opportunity. It is the fusion of two or more persons' knowledge synchronized to each other's professional needs. It is a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship to the person, company, industry and world.

BE A CAREER POLLINATOR

Pollinators are those incredibly important people who naturally make us feel comfortable, validated,  and needed. They bring mutually beneficial people together for the common good of everyone.
I can think of several pollinators in my life who are linked to my professional development and success.
They've knocked on doors and introduced me to people I would never have otherwise known.   Pollinators connect people for positive outcomes that benefit all.  How am I pollinating other colleagues' success?

This is the key: building intentional relationships for the common good as we exchange information makes the world a better place.

What could be more rewarding?

Just like one bee cannot possibly pollinate the entire floral landscape, we cannot navigate the world of work alone.  The more we pollinate, the less discouraged and isolated we tend to be.

BENEFITS OF POLLINATION

Connecting to people and transferring information to another can have profoundly positive effects.

1. We reproduce successful relationships with colleagues and industry partners.
2. We tap into the nectar (positive energy) of relationships with one another that inspires us to greater success.
3. We provide an important service to humanity by connecting to each other.  What is truly more important?

Pollinating is becoming a lost art because we no longer make the time and space for it.

CREATE AN INTENTIONAL BEEHIVE OF ACTIVITY

Creating a beehive of active relationships and takes time and energy.  It doesn't happen overnight yet every moment spent produces great reward.

Here are some healthy beehive activities:

1. Have lunch twice a month with professional colleagues.
2. Have coffee with an industry expert every three months.
3. Read one book a month on your career trends, future growth and best practices.  Have conversations with co-workers and give the book as gifts.
4.  Join at least one new professional organization each year.
5. Take a class at least once every two years to enhance your professional development.
6.  Volunteer in your community.
7. Take a moment and meet all the neighbors on your street.
8. Write an email of appreciation or affirmation to your colleagues or better yet, a phone call!!

The honey of career pollination is found in the connectedness of other professionals who challenge, encourage and develop us to be our best and find meaning in our work.

How healthy is your hive?  My wellbeing depends on it.

In a previous post, the lion of discouragement seeking to devour the hope of all jobseekers was put on notice.  Read it here.


Job seeker discouragement is the most pervasive predator of successful attainment of employment. Simply put: the jaws of being down-hearted will slow your success to finding a job.


The Most Effective Job Search Strategy (Pink slip the lion) 


To have an effective job search and discover the employer who needs your skills, remember the following reality:


1. Employers aren't responsible for your livelihood, you are.
2. If your previous job is now obsolete, it won't return in its current form.  Have a funeral and mourn the loss.  But do not bury your hope and determination to work.
3. It is and shall indefinitely be the employer's market.  This means you have to be intentional and active in finding the employer who needs your skills. Discovering your employer is an art in itself. 
4.  Reframe your job hunt starting now.  Instead of seeing the process as overwhelming and daunting, embrace the opportunity to show core competencies every employer needs. 


In the end, the most powerful job search strategy isn't a methodology. It is a relationship.
A relationship between you and the world of work and how you engage it daily. This directly correlates with your success.  Step back, assess your strengths and let go of having to remediate a weakness. Focus today on learning, building, and moving forward. This attitude will catapult your search to a new level of intentional pursuit.  Focus on what is good.  Focus on the small accomplishments of each day.  The best way to slay the lion of discouragement is to learn the science of pollination. 

More on that in a future post.

Successful resume writing is an art and science.

First, the science.

Chemistry 101

The employer has an opening and looks for the right and best fit.  Company culture, leadership and a gap in the current staff drives the need to grow the team.   How does your resume and cover letter make the point that you deserve an interview?  You likely will hear about this protected opening from a colleague and the world of work's interpersonal routing system delivers you an opportunity.

Does your resume provide the necessary oxygen to sustain interest in meeting you?


I could go on and on about the chemistry factor, but am focused today on an emerging resume art.

The Infographic Masterpiece

Infographic resumes have increased over the past two years.  What is very useful about them is how they take "data" and mine it into information that is quick to scan and an enjoyable diversion from the typical chronological resume.

How I created mine:

I went to www.resumup.com

It then connected to my Linked In profile and created my resume infographic:


An infographic resume is a creative way to summarize your fit to the company's need.
The science of success requires chemistry and the art of expressing yourself in innovative ways.

Here is a guest post from my colleagues at DegreeJungle.com
Enjoy!


In October 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the US unemployment rate stood at 7.9 percent. Admittedly this is one of the lowest figures reported since 2009, yet it still amounts to a staggering 12.3 million unemployed persons.

There is little wonder that competition for available jobs is fierce and job seekers are increasingly looking for ways to stand out from the crowd. The importance of social media in a comprehensive job hunting strategy is well documented. The Jobvite Social Recruiting Strategy reports that 92% of companies use or have plans to use social platforms for recruitment purposes, with 73% of companies having already made a successful hire.

In turn, these statistics have educated job hunters into the importance of well thought out social profiles that are full of character as opposed to being unnaturally squeaky clean. The Jobvite Social Job Seeker Survey reports that 88% of job seekers have at least one social networking profile, while one in six respondents credited social media with their current job. With so many job seekers jumping on the social networking bandwagon, could it be time to find a new way to stand out from the crowd?

One of the latest ways to appear different to the hundreds, if not thousands, of competing applicants that are standing in between the job seeker and the chance of a regular monthly paycheck is the use of a QR (Quick Response) Code. But wait, aren’t they something to do with couponing? Not any more. QR codes are increasingly commonplace on everything from fast food placements to movie posters. Users scan the code with their smartphone or tablet to be directed to (hopefully useful and mobile friendly) content.

Savvy job seekers are looking at how they can use a QR code on their resume or business card as part of their job hunting strategy, and some, like Victor Petit, are doing it in a very creative manner. There’s no denying the appeal of the QR code to help an applicant differentiate themselves from other applicants, but does that mean that every job seeker should have one? That largely depends on the sort of company a job seeker is hoping to work for.

Progressive employers such as advertising agencies, marketing firms, and software technology companies are likely to find the use of QR codes attractive. To see that a candidate has enough understanding of the technology to be able to implement it in their job search will be an attractive quality to many employers. It’s a given that a resume and covering letter should be tailored as far as possible to each job application, so one way a job seeker can gauge whether or not to include their QR code in a particular application is to see if the company they are applying to uses the technology themselves. If they do, it’s fairly likely that the job seekers personal QR code will be well received.

Sold on the idea of a personal QR code? The one question that remains is how job seekers can get their hands on one. Corey Eridon shows how to create a QR code over at HubSpot.

Author Bio

Linda Forshaw is a Business Information Systems graduate from Lancaster University in the UK. She is the main contributor to Degreejungle.com, as well as a full time writer and blogger specializing in education, social media, and entrepreneurship. Contact her on Twitter @seelindaplay